Personal rolling valet

ABSTRACT

A personal rolling valet, for use organizing, supporting, and transporting several clothes outfits, having a vertical shaft. The vertical shaft has a top and a bottom. A horizontal rack is attached to the vertical shaft near the top. The horizontal rack has a pair of opposed hooked portions for supporting several clothes outfits. A lower rack is attached to the vertical shaft near the bottom. The lower rack has a hub attached to the vertical shaft, an outer ring, and spokes connecting the hub and outer ring. The outer ring has an opening between a pair of the spokes which facilitates stacking more than one personal rolling valet.

CROSS REFERENCES AND RELATED SUBJECT MATTER

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.12/001,874, filed in the United States Patent Office on Dec. 13, 2007now U.S. Pat. No. 7,631,773.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a personal rolling valet. More particularly,the invention relates to a personal valet that allows clothes to beefficiently organized, for use while at home or when shopping.

As the size of a person's wardrobe expands, so does the need for toolswhich help to effectively organize and coordinate outfits. Suchorganizational tools are helpful not only prior to dressing, but alsowhen actually dressing and while shopping for new outfits.

When sorting and organizing clothes, one quickly runs out of hands.Accordingly, when going through the closet—either selecting an outfitfor a single occasion, or the outfits for an entire week—clothes gettossed onto a bed, or sometimes even onto the floor. This is not apreferred way to care for fine garments.

Similarly, when shopping in a clothing store, it is easy to becomeoverwhelmed: carrying an ever-expanding pile of clothes over one armwhile hunting through the store to see if there is anything elseinteresting to buy. At a certain point, however, it becomes too much andtoo tiring, and the shopper cuts the browsing short to head toward thecheckout counter. This is unfortunate, as it results not only in lostopportunities for the shopper but also in lost sales for the store.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,195 to Trubiano discloses a shopping cart apparelhanger. Trubiano requires use of an already existing shopping cart.Trubiano is also limited in capacity, and provides little versatility.Accordingly, it might be somewhat helpful in some shoppingcircumstances, but fails to be useful for other clothing organizingneeds.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,579 to Lipschitz discloses a clothes shopping cart.Lipschitz is not readily adjustable to meet the needs of the user.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,366 to Searra discloses a portable shopping cartapparatus. Searra is large and cumbersome, and is not stackable.

United States Patent Nos. D440,370 to Keshishian, D463,679 to Chang, andD463,160 to Chang each disclose shopping rack designs. Each of thesedesigns is clearly intended for a specific purpose, but is lacking isthe versatility required to meet the needs of consumers.

While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed,or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes ofthe present invention as disclosed hereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to produce a personal valet that helpsthe user to organize numerous outfits in a convenient manner.Accordingly, the personal valet includes a horizontal rack, which allowsnumerous clothing outfits to be hung, and a lower rack, which allowsshoes and other accessories to be held.

It is another object of the invention to provide a personal valet thatis mobile, allowing it to be easily moved from location to location.Accordingly, the personal valet has caster wheels which allow it toroll, allowing it to be easily transported from room to room whendressing, or around a store when shopping.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a personal valet thatis adjustable and readily adaptable to varying circumstances of use.Accordingly, the valet has a vertical shaft that supports the horizontalrack. The vertical shaft is capable of telescoping and can accommodateone or more additional horizontal racks if desired. In addition, a clipand associated purse hook allows a purse or other accessories to besupported upon the vertical shaft.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a personal valetthat is stackable, so as to require minimum space—especially when usedin a crowded store. Accordingly, the lower rack has an open quadrant,allowing the vertical shaft of a unit stacked immediately below it toextend upwardly along its own vertical shaft. A clip assembly allows thevertical shafts to be connected together to facilitate stability of thestacked arrangement of personal valets.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a personalvalet that allows numerous outfits to be simultaneously organizedthereon. Accordingly, a secondary horizontal rack can be easily addedonto the vertical shaft. The secondary horizontal rack can be placed atany desired height on the vertical shaft, and offset angularly from theother horizontal rack to maximize capacity of the valet.

The invention is a personal rolling valet, for use organizing,supporting, and transporting several clothes outfits, having a verticalshaft. The vertical shaft has a top and a bottom. A horizontal rack isattached to the vertical shaft near the top. The horizontal rack has apair of opposed hooked portions for supporting several clothes outfits.A lower rack is attached to the vertical shaft near the bottom. Thelower rack has a hub attached to the vertical shaft, an outer ring, andspokes connecting the hub and outer ring. The outer ring has an openingbetween a pair of the spokes which facilitates stacking more than onepersonal rolling valet.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the invention maybe embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of theinvention, limited only by the scope of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like elements are depicted by like reference numerals.The drawings are briefly described as follows.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating the personalvalet according to the present invention, per se.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating one of thehorizontal racks.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating the clipassembly, with accompanying purse hook.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, illustrating the telescoping natureof the vertical shaft, and cam tightening mechanism. The clip assemblyis shown mounted on the upper shaft.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrate the cam tightening mechanism on thehorizontal rack in the closed, and open position, respectively, suchthat they hold the horizontal rack in position, allow its heightadjustment on the vertical shaft, or allow its removal from the verticalshaft.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating the stacking ofmultiple personal valets.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating a furtherembodiment of the lower rack.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view, illustrating an additionalhorizontal rack attached onto the vertical shaft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a personal valet 10 according to the presentinvention. The personal valet 10 includes a vertical shaft 20, having atop 20T and a bottom 20B. The vertical shaft 20 is cylindrical and isconfigured telescopically to adjust in height. Accordingly, the verticalshaft 20 comprises an upper shaft 22 and a lower shaft 24. The uppershaft is coaxial with the lower shaft 24 and is capable of raising andlowering with respect thereto to adjust an overall distance between thetop 20T and bottom 20B of the vertical shaft 20.

A lower rack 30 is attached at the bottom 20B of the vertical shaft 20.The lower rack 30 includes a hub 32 which is directly attached to thebottom 20B of the vertical shaft 20, and an outer ring 34 extendshorizontally and which is substantially concentric with the verticalshaft 20 and hub 32. Spokes 36 extend radially outward from the hub 32and are separated by substantially ninety degrees between each adjacentspoke. The spokes 36 connect the outer ring 34 to the hub 32. The outerring 34 is not continuous, however. The lower rack 30 has an openquadrant 38, such that the outer ring 34 is essentially missing betweentwo of the spokes 36, creating an opening that facilitates stacking, aswill be further described and demonstrated hereinbelow. A plurality ofcaster wheels 39 are mounted to the outer ring 34, to allows thepersonal valet 10 to be easily transported on any flooring surface.

A horizontal rack 40 is attached to the vertical shaft 20 near the top20T. The horizontal rack has a collar 44 that facilitates attachmentonto the vertical shaft 20. The horizontal rack is configured tofacilitate organizing clothing outlets thereon. Generally clothingoutfits on hangers are hung directly from the horizontal rack 40. Thehorizontal rack is substantially S-shaped, having two opposing hookedportions 42 that extend laterally outwardly from the collar 44. Tabs canbe easily placed on the hooked portions 42 to separate outfits forvarious days of the weeks, or to otherwise organize the outfits asdesired by the user.

Referring to FIG. 2, the collar 44 facilitates attachment onto thevertical shaft 20. The collar 44 has a top 44T, a bottom 44B, and avertical bore 45 extending fully between the top and bottom 44B. Thevertical bore 45 allows the vertical shaft 20 to extend through thecollar 44. The collar 44 has a cam tightening mechanism 50, including acam lever 52, which facilitates securing to the vertical shaft 20 at aparticular location thereon, and also allows adjustment in heightthereon, or removal therefrom. Referring to FIG. 5A, when the cam lever52 is in a downward position, extending substantially parallel to thevertical shaft 20, the collar 44 tightens upon the vertical shaft 20extending therethrough. Referring to FIG. 5B, when the cam lever 52 isin an upward position, the collar 44 loosens upon the vertical shaft 20,allowing the collar 44 to be adjusted in height, or fully removed fromthe vertical shaft 20.

Referring to FIG. 4, the vertical shaft 20 also employs the camtightening mechanism 50. In particular, the cam tightening mechanism 50is mounted on the lower shaft 24, and selectively allows or preventrelative vertical movement of the upper shaft 22 as shown by selectivelyloosening or tightening its grip upon the upper shaft 22.

FIG. 3 illustrates a clip 60, which has a main portion 62, having a mainbore 64, and an open portion 66, having a clip opening 67 and an openbore 68. The main bore 64 is sized to fit snugly upon the vertical shaft20—preferably the upper shaft 22 thereof. The open portion 66 is sizedto also sized to fit snugly upon the vertical shaft 20. Accordingly, theclip 60 is preferably made of rubber, or a similar material. The clipopening 67 extends vertically, parallel to the main bore 64 and isconfigured to allow the vertical shaft 20 to be pressed into the openbore 68, such that the clip flexes and expands the clip opening 67momentarily to allow the vertical shaft 20 to extend fully into the openbore 68 at which time the clip flex to close the clip opening 67 so asto securely hold the vertical shaft 20 therein. The clip also has apurse hook 61, which is secured the main portion 62 with a ring 63. Thepurse hook 61 conveniently allows a user to hang a purse while shopping,or can be used to hold accessories when dressing or arranging outfits.It can also be used to support a mesh bag that holds additional clothingitems.

FIG. 6 illustrates how the clip 60 facilitates the stacking of multiplepersonal valets 10. In particular, the clip 60 secures together thevertical shafts 20 of adjacent personal valets 10, whereas one of thevertical shafts 20 extends through the main portion 62 of the clip 60,and the other vertical shaft 20 is urged through the clip opening 67 andinto the open bore 68.

Further facilitating the stacking of multiple personal valets 10 is theconfiguration of the lower rack 30. In fact, it is this configurationthat makes stacking possible. In particular, with regard to the stackingof two personal valets 10, wherein one is located above 10A, and theother below 10B: the vertical shaft 20 of the personal valet locatedbelow 10B extends upwardly through the open quadrant 38 of the lowerrack 30 of the personal valet located above 10A. The hub 32 of the onebelow 10B extends nearly alongside (allow slightly lower than) the hub32 of the personal valet above 10A. The outer rings 34 of the valetabove 10A and valet below 10B are nearly coincident, yet are offset bysubstantially the size of the hub 32. At the same time, the verticalshaft 20 of the personal valet below 10B mates with the clip 60belonging to the vertical shaft 20 of the personal valet above 10A.

FIG. 7 illustrates a further embodiment of the lower rack 30. Inparticular, the lower rack 30 is covered with an item retaining net 70.In particular, the net 70 has small opening 72 that are considerablysmaller than a region formed by two adjacent spokes 36 and the outerring 34. Accordingly, the net 70 allows various items to be placed onthe lower rack 30, such as shoes and other accessories. The net 70 maybe made of a rigid material (and thus be more like a grating), or may bemade of textiles, forming a flexible net having similar properties as,for example, a fishing net.

FIG. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the personal valet 10,wherein a secondary horizontal rack 40A is attached to the verticalshaft 20, to supplement the other, already existing horizontal rack 40.In particular, the collar 44 of the supplemental horizontal rack 40A issimply slid over the top 20T of the vertical shaft 20 on to the uppershaft 22. As illustrated, the secondary horizontal rack 40A can beoriented in a different angular position than the horizontal rack 40, toallow quantities of clothing to be hung from each without interferingwith each other. In particular, the supplemental horizontal rack 40A isat a substantially ninety degree angle form the horizontal rack 40. Inaddition, since the collar 44 allows free movement upon the verticalshaft, either of the horizontal racks 40, 40A can be raised or loweredat will. Accordingly the heights of the horizontal rack 40 and thesecondary horizontal rack 40A can be staggered considerably to maximizecapacity of the personal valet 10 by providing even more storage space.

In conclusion, herein is presented a rolling personal valet which allowsclothes to be organized, supported, and transported by a user. Theinvention is illustrated by example in the drawing figures, andthroughout the written description. It should be understood thatnumerous variations are possible, while adhering to the inventiveconcept. Such variations are contemplated as being a part of the presentinvention.

1. A personal valet, for use organizing, supporting, and transportingclothing outfits by a user, comprising: a vertical shaft, having a topand a bottom; a lower rack having a hub that is secured to the bottom ofthe vertical shaft, an outer ring that is substantially concentric withthe vertical shaft and hub; a plurality of wheels mounted beneath thelower rack; a horizontal rack, attached to the vertical shaft, thehorizontal rack having a collar which is secured onto the verticalshaft, and a pair of opposed hooked portions that extend laterallyoutwardly substantially horizontally from the collar for supportingclothes on hangers; a secondary horizontal rack, also having a collarfor mounting on the vertical shaft and a pair of hooked portionsextending laterally outward from the collar, the secondary horizontalrack allowing additional clothing outfits to be supported therefrom; andwherein the horizontal racks are each independently adjustable in heightand in angular position of the vertical shaft.
 2. The personal valet asrecited in claim 1, wherein each collar has a cam lever whichselectively causes the collar to tighten on the vertical shaft toselectively maintain a vertical position of its associated horizontalrack on the vertical shaft, or to selectively allow height adjustment ofsaid horizontal rack.
 3. The personal valet as recited in claim 2,wherein the lower rack further comprises a plurality of spokes extendradially from the hub separated by substantially ninety degree anglesfrom adjacent spokes, the spokes connect the hub and outer ring, whereinthe outer ring of the primary personal valet has an open quadrantbetween two of the spokes for facilitating stackability with otherpersonal valets substantially the same as previously recited.
 4. Thepersonal valet as recited in claim 3, further comprising a clip, theclip having a main portion and an open portion, the main portion havinga main bore for allowing the vertical shaft to extend therethrough forsecuring to the personal valet, the open portion having an open bore anda clip opening extending vertically adjoining the open bore, parallel tothe main bore, the clip opening flexes to allow a vertical shaft fromanother personal valet to extend into the open bore and then flexes backto retain said vertical shaft so as to hold both vertical shaftstogether when stacking both of said personal valets.
 5. The personalvalet as recited in claim 4, wherein the vertical shaft is capable oftelescoping, having an upper shaft, and a lower shaft that extendswithin the lower shaft.
 6. The personal valet as recited in claim 5,wherein the lower rack is covered by a net, spanning between the outerring and spokes, except at the open quadrant.
 7. The personal valet asrecited in claim 6, wherein the clip has a main portion, and has a pursehook which is secured to the main portion with a ring, the purse hookallowing objects to be supported from the vertical shaft.
 8. Thepersonal valet as recited in claim 7, wherein the lower shaft has a camlever to selectively allow the upper shaft to be adjusted in height withrespect to the lower shaft, and for selectively fixing the relativeposition of the upper shaft and lower shaft.